Search

The Indian Peacock

on 3rd April 2010

Wilson Chong a.k.a. starrynight was in India recently and returned with an impressive image of a male Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) in flight (above). The male bird, also known as the Indian Peacock, has always been admired for his beauty.

The peacock has a wingspan of 80-130 cm. The brownish primary and the much darker secondary flight feathers are well displayed in flight, as are the whitish coverts. The tail is 40-45 cm long, eclipsed by the much longer train made up of abnormally lengthened upper tail coverts. In flight the train trails behind the bird.

The beauty of the long train is fully displayed only when the peacock is on the ground and in the presence of a female or females. The train is then lifted and fanned out to display the more than a hundred impressive eye-like ocelli, each with its bright blue iris (below). At the same time the peacock adds sound effects to his visual display by stamping his feet on the ground and rustling his wings feathers.

The female is distinctly smaller, with shorter tail and no train. She generally prefers to mate with males with the most elaborate train. This has been shown experimentally by Petrie & Halliday (1994) who manipulated the trains of the male by removing a number of eye-spots between mating seasons. Peacocks with eye-spots removed showed a significant decline in mating success between seasons compared with a control group.

The Indian Peafowl is common in India, seen in deciduous forests as well as around villages. They are protected throughout the country, the bird being sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike. To the Hindus the peacock is the vehicle upon which the god Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, and brother of the elephant god, Ganesh, moves around.

Top image by Wilson Chong, bottom image by YC Wee.

Reference:
Petrie, M. & T. Halliday, 1994. Experimental and natural changes in the peacock’s (Pavo cristatus) train can affect mating success. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 35:213-217.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

One Response

Leave a Reply to Twitter Trackbacks for Bird Ecology Study Group » The Indian Peacock [talfrynature.com] on Topsy.com Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
854
20006
Visitors Today
51793133
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)